Funeral of H.J. Sheffield, Jr.
Held in the Kaysville Tabernacle
Sunday, November 24, 1935
Choir: “Oh My Father”
Prayer - Elder James Criddle
Our Heavenly and Eternal Father, hallowed be Thy name. We have gathered together at this time with bowed heads and touched hearts at the passing of this, one of our loved ones - one of Thy servants whom Thou hast called home.
We thank Thee, Heavenly Father, for the peaceful influence that is present upon this occasion. We thank Thee for the rays of the beautiful sunshine, and for the moisture that has been poured upon the face of mother earth during the past few weeks. We thank Thee, Heavenly Father, for this good family, for our neighbors and friends and associates. Wilst Thou be mindful of those who are stricken on this occasion. Comfort their broken hearts. The various communities throughout this state, and even throughout the nation will feel the loss of this great man. We thank Thee, Heavenly Father, for the association we have had with him all these many years. Even from the time of his birth do we remember him - and we remember him only for good. His parents came to the valleys of the mountains in early days and established themselves where we, the future generations, might enjoy ourselves. And particularly are we thankful for the gospel which has been delivered to us in this day in which we live.
Wilst Thou be mindful especially of Sister Nannie, who is left without a companion at this time. We thank Thee from the bottom of our hearts for their posterity, for their sons and daughters, and in-laws and grandchildren, and all connected with them. Bless them, Heavenly Father, that they may all emulate the example of this great man whom we certainly feel the loss of at this time. Wilst Thou bless this service, cause Thy guardian angels to hover about that no accidents may befall any individual. May the singing and speaking be for the good of those that have assembled on this occasion. These blessings we humbly pray for in the name of Jesus Christ, even so, Amen
Blanche Adams Reed and Lela Layton: “The Sweetest Story Ever Told.”
Remarks - Elder John A,. Israelson
I am deeply appreciative of the opportunity on this occasion of occupying a very few minutes of your time to appear at the funeral of my very dear, departed friend and co-laborer. I sincerely trust that the few minutes I occupy, the beautiful prayer that was offered at the opening of this service may be realized in my behalf. Only those who are called to speak on occasions of this kind can fully appreciate the emotions that fill the heart of one closely associated with the departed, and I hope I shall be able to control my feelings and speak the words that are in my heart at this time.
Brother Sheffield and I first became acquainted some twelve years ago. I then occupied the position as president of the Utah Postmasters Organization, and he came representing this county. He was elected an officer on the State Executive Committee. I soon found in Brother Sheffield one of the loyalist friends that any person could ever hope to labor with, and one of the most cheerful men it has ever been my privilege to know - a man of ability - a man always willing to carry his share of the load and more. And so we labored together for a number of years.
In 1925 I was sent to the National Convention at Chicago representing Utah. I was instructed to extend an invitation to the National Organization to hold their convention in Salt Lake City, but I failed in getting sufficient support at that time. The next year I was sent to Cleveland, Ohio to renew the invitation. I was better equipped that time, with an urgent invitation from the Governor of our state, the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce, Senator Smoot, and others, who urged the delegates at that convention to come to Utah, where they would be very well taken care of. On the very first ballot the decision was made to come to Salt Lake City. No man in our state was more happy when he received word of this than was Brother H. J. Sheffield, Jr., and from that very hour our plans were laid to make preparation for that convention which brought to our fair city representatives from every state in the union except Wyoming. Brother Sheffield worked with me for weeks in preparation, and when that four-day convention closed, and the delegates started their journey homeward, Captain Finney of Massachusetts, then the National President, pronounced it the most outstanding convention held in the history of the organization. He said: “No city has every been more hospitable, no convention has been better conducted, not an hour has been wasted, and the very highest type of entertainment afforded.” Brother Sheffield and other postmasters from this and neighboring counties contributed very generously to the success of that occasion. From that time to this our lot has been cast along this same line.
Brother Sheffield, at the time I aspired to the office of First Vice-President to the National Organization, succeeded me as delegate to many of these conventions. We went to Louisville, Kentucky, to Washington, D.C., to Atlanta, Georgia and Seattle, Washington together, so I have spent weeks in very intimate association with Brother Sheffield On the last trip we made to Washington, D.C., in October of 1932, he was then under the doctor’s care, and for weeks prior to our departure was very greatly concerned as to whether or not he would be able to make the trip. A few days before we were ready to leave he said if he would be very careful the doctor thought he could stand the journey. I carried his suit cases on and off the train, in and out of the hotels. He held to my arm up and down every flight of stairs. We traveled for a week in the National Capitol. We had a glorious time with our associates from all over the nation. At the conclusion of the trip we planned a trip to Georgia. Brother Sheffield wanted to visit among his wife’s people, so we went to Atlanta and attended a service there. I shall never forget the wonderful testimony that Brother Sheffield bore in that Sacrament service relating, as many of you have heard, his experiences in the Tahiti Mission. He met friends there who had been in Utah. In fact, wherever we traveled I found Brother Sheffield meeting some acquaintance. He was not a stranger in Washington, as many of the good people there knew him. We were received by his wife’s people very courteously, and after completing our trip we came on home.
He was elected to succeed me as President of the Utah Postmasters, and has served in that capacity now for a number of years.
This year the National Convention was held at Atlanta, Georgia, and I don’t know that I have ever seen Brother Sheffield more happy than he was in planning that trip to go back home with his Georgia sweetheart and visit among her people. He said it was like going on a second honeymoon. I am glad he was able to successfully make that trip with her. They were gone just eighteen days, and as he reported to me just a week or so ago, in a beautiful letter, “it was the grandest trip we ever had in our married life.” He said, “Brother Israelson, I am going to bring the 1937 convention again to Salt Lake City. We want you and Sister Israelson to come as special guests to attend that convention.
It was just within the last few days when he and Brother Johnson, the State Secretary, were making plans for their membership campaign, that he said to his good wife, “Mother, I want you to go with me up to St. Paul to the convention next year and help me bring it back to Salt Lake City.” Just a few days ago he was active on this work, planning for the things he expected to do next year and the year after, so that he has never been idle. He has never left the other fellow to carry his load. He has always been a real scout, and I thought I could pay no better tribute to my dear friend than to comment briefly upon these outstanding qualifications which he possessed as few other men possess them.
Pardon me for referring to him as “Jim”, but Jim was trustworthy. I don’t know of a trust ever imposed upon him but what he carried it like a man. He was loyal. I have never had a more loyal friend in all my life than Brother Sheffield. It was always a pleasure to stop at the post office or the store as you drove into Salt Lake and receive that warm handshake and that happy cheerful smile of his, always making you so welcome. Jim was helpful. I think there has never been a man or woman or child in this community that needed help that Brother Sheffield was not there ready to help. Jim was friendly. He could make friends no matter where he went, and today in forty-eight states in this union, H. J. Sheffield’s name will be held in remembrance. He has friends from Florida to Washington, from Portland to California. He has made them in every convention for years past, and he is respected as one of the finest, cleanest men that ever attended one of those meetings. He was courteous. Jim was always courteous to women and children. He was a friend to the old people. Working as he has for years on the Old Folks Committee, you people know of his accomplishments there. He was kind. I never remember hearing him say an unkind word. He did not want to give offense to any one or make an enemy. He was obedient. Whenever an assignment was made to Brother Sheffield as a member of our State Executive Committee, you could know that that job would be taken care of. He was cheerful. Every patron of the Kaysville Post Office is going to miss his cheery “good-morning, how are you today.” He always radiated good cheer. He was thrifty. He worked hard, was careful with his means, and his one great ambition in life was to make his family happy, to provide for his boys and girls the best education within his means, and to send them on missions. We met a missionary boy who came to spend a day with us in Atlanta, Georgia, while he was working in the Southern States. Jim was brave. On a number of these conventions, when a real battle was raging, Brother Sheffield didn’t step back, but he was right out in the front ranks, fighting courageously for what he thought was right. He was no coward. Jim was clean. I have never traveled with a man who lived a better life. I have never heard a man pray more earnestly night and morning on our journeys than Brother Sheffield. He pled with the Lord for the things he thought would be best for the preservation of his family and for the success of the work that we were engaged in. And last, but not least, Brother Sheffield was reverent. His missionary experience, I think, cannot be excelled by any other missionary of our Church. The things he passed through during those years in the South Sea Islands few men could have endured, and yet his love for this Latter-Day work was just as strong the day of his death as it was during his missionary services.
You people know better than I of his activities in your community – the service rendered on your Genealogical Committee, on the Old Folks Committee and as Ward Clerk. So I think that possibly no other man in your community will be missed more than my dear friend, H. J. Sheffield, Jr.
May God bless and comfort his wife, the splendid boys and girls, his aged father and mother, and the immediate members of his family, that they may look back with real joy and satisfaction on his wonderful labor. While he lived to be less than sixty, few men accomplished more, in many more years, than he has done. May the Lord bless his happy memory, is my earnest prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen
Instrumental selection by the Thornley Sisters
Remarks - Governor Henry H. Blood
I come before you this afternoon, my brethern and sisters, and friends, filled with emotion, but desire with all my heart to pay a worthy tribute to a very beloved friend and brother. And yet I realize that any words of mine, uttered on an occasion like this, will be very inadequate as compared with the words that should be spoken, and that truthfully could be uttered; for we are honoring today one of the very best men I ever knew. I use those Anglo-Saxon words in all they can be made to mean when I say “one of the best men.”
If I know anything about the capacity of this building I would say that between a thousand and eleven hundred people are assembled within its walls and immediately surrounding it; for a number of people, as I came to the door, were unable to enter. What a fine tribute such attendance is to this man! What an evidence of his standing in the community!
I was thinking a moment ago of the words in scripture where it is said, “He that would be greatest among you, let him be the servant of all.” I think I never knew of a man that willingly was “the servant of all” more truly than was Jim Sheffield. As a neighbor, he was all that could be desired. Whether or not he was called to the home where grief and sorrow and sickness, or death itself, had entered, nevertheless he was there - and he was welcome. So much was he in the habit of devoting time to that class of service that it came to be customary, when anyone was sick, to call Brother Sheffield to the home. But, I repeat, he did not always wait for the call. His heart was so filled with human kindness and desire to serve and do good that he went where duty called him, and where friendship led him.
We have heard of what happened as he went out into the world, among men engaged in his particular line of endeavor. He went from this somewhat obscure village, or city or town, as you wish to call it, and made his own way. Nobody helped him. He became postmaster of this community of approximately fifteen hundred people, and there are literally thousands of larger cities and more important postmasterships in the United States - and many thousands of them - and yet when he went to a National Convention, as Brother Israelson has told you, he became outstanding among the postmasters of the country, and he was chosen for position of preferment among them - just by the power of his personality, his friendliness, cheerfulness and those other attributes that have been so beautifully portrayed, in language better than I can use, by the former speaker. I call your attention to that because I consider that he has bestowed upon this community of ours honor and credit by his achievements out in the world of men.
He has been known at home and abroad for his integrity, his honesty, his truthfulness, his sobriety, and by all those other virtues that make for true manhood and true greatness. At home he was known as a good citizen. He has been chosen for position after position in the civic life of the town here, as well as in the religious life of the community. And I call upon you who know him best for testimony that he has never faltered or failed, never surrendered, never asked to be relieved - but has pressed on to do his full part in carrying the burdens in a civic way and in a religious way in this community of ours.
Moreover, I think no man every had more faith than he. He was proud of the fact that his family lineage in the Mormon Church reaches back generation beyond generation, and he has pointed that out to me to show that there has been handed down to him, and through him to his posterity, that gift of faith from his great-grandfather, his grandfather, and his father and mother, and he has kept the banner aloft - faith coupled with good works - and has passed it on to his children and to their children; and through them it will go on down generation after generation. He was proud to answer the statement made by those not believing as he believed in the truth of the message of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, that after three or four generations the young people would drift away from this church. It is not long ago that he called my attention to that statement and said that the Sheffield family (and he said it not boastfully) was proof that not only the third and fourth generations, but the fifth and sixth, have been passed with faith undiminished in the hearts of those who have come through that lineage. I complimented him on that statement of fact.
I think of him not only as a citizen, but as a husband and father, I doubt, my friends and brothers and sisters, if there was ever a better father to a family than this father. For the same spirit he carried into his public career he possessed and made evident in his home. He provided for his children the best it was possible for him to give them. It was his pride to have them go out into the world on missions and to bear the necessary expense, however much it might have cost him, and however difficult it might have been sometimes to carry the load.
I want next to call your attention to him as a church man, in addition to what has been said; for here he was in the work he loved best. However much he tried to do in a civic way and public way outside of the church, he nevertheless enjoyed most of all that work which came through his membership in the church. I have watched him from my young manhood and his boyhood until now. He never asked for a position. He did not need to do that. He just put into effect that one thing that is mentioned in Mormon literature, he “magnified” his calling. However humble a call might have been which was placed upon him, he magnified that calling, and if I understand the meaning of that term as we use it in our Mormon literature, it means just what the word says. It means that he grew within the calling to which he at that time had been assigned - developed in fact so much that he outgrew it and was advanced to something greater, and in that new calling that was greater than the first, he developed also, and thus grew again within his calling, until those over him, witnessing his ability and his devotion to duty, chose him for still higher positions. And so it would have gone on, had years been granted him, in the future, for he had not ceased to grow. He never failed to magnify any calling.
Well, that is the history of all great men. There is not a man who accomplishes and achieves much in this life, but who does it because he has fulfilled, in relatively complete measure, the requirements made of him in small things and has gone on to greater things, step by step. There is no other way to progress. I think that a passage from one of our American poets is appropriate in that connection. Indeed, a verse or two from each of two of our American poets would not be out of place. What is meant by magnifying his calling is beautifully illustrated in that wonderful poem by Oliver Wendell Holmes, so well known to all, “The Chambered Nautilus.” Speaking of this little shell-fish, inhabiting tropical seas, the poet says:
Year after year beheld the silent toil
That spread his lustrous coil
Still, as the spiral grew,
He left the past year’s dwelling for the new,
Stole with soft step its shining archway through,
Built us its idle door,
Stretched in its last-found home and knew the old no more.”
And thus that little creature, year after year, passed from the small into the large, and the larger. Then the poet philosophizes:
“Thanks for the heavenly message brought by thee,
Child of the wandering sea,
Cast from her lap forlorn!
From thy dead lips a clearer note is born
Than ever Triton blew from wreathed horn!
While on mine ear it rings,
Thro’ the deep caves of thought I hear a voice that sings:”
Then comes that passage that we all know so well:
“Build thee more stately mansions, oh my soul,
As the swift seasons roll!
Leave thy low-vaulted past!
Let each new temple, nobler than the last
Shut thee from heaven with a dome more vast
Till thou at length art free,
So Jim has done. Year after year has seen him grow, until he has attained to what we have heard today. Recognition from Florida to Maine, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, has come to him. We have watched him grow in our very small community, and he has gained recognition because he was worthy of that recognition.
The other poet wrote:
“Heaven is not gained at a single bound;
But we build the ladder by which we rise
From the lowly earth to the vaulted skies,
And we mount to its summit round by round.
“I count this thing to be grandly true,
That a noble deed is a step toward God –
Lifting the soul from the common sod
To a purer air and a broader view.
“We rise by things that are ‘neath our feet;
By what we have mastered of good and gain;
By the pride deposed and the passion slain,
And the vanquished ills that we hourly meet.
“Heaven is not gained at a single bound;
But we build the ladder by which we rise
From the lowly earth to the vaulted skies,
And we mount to its summit round by round.”
There is a message for us in both of those poems. Every man and woman here can take a pattern from that which is said in them.
Now what of such a man as this? Why, he has passed on to greater things, just as surely as we have seen him progress in this life, not in things financially so much, but in that richer gain - the friendship of all who knew him. We have seen him grow in the graces of manhood, of citizenship, of fatherhood, until we have learned to admire him, as is evidenced here today by this throng of people paying tribute to his memory. So will he continue onward from this time throughout eternity.
I like what was said by B.H. Roberts in one of his early writings. As I recall, it was something to this effect: A child is born the most helpless of all beings. Nearly every other creature born into the world is able to do something for itself from birth, but man comes here helpless. And yet, in twenty or thirty years from the time of birth the tongue and lips that could not form a word have acquired ability to hold an audience spell-bound by the very force and power of oratory; those hands, that at first were so useless, now have gained the dexterity and skill of the artisan, the builder, the sculptor, or painter. That brain, which was in embryo at birth, now can solve many of the riddles of the universe. Twenty, thirty or forty years have wrought this change, and that with imperfect teaching. What then may we expect in eternity, with instructors capable of giving the best there is drawn from the fountain of all truth? Is it too much to believe that in the progress of eternity the man who leaves this world as our friend has left it, may not go on to that perfection which is possessed by God, the Eternal Father of his spirit? Given time enough, opportunity enough, what may not be accomplished by the immortal soul of man, the body and spirit united? Well that kind of eternity is before Brother Sheffield. That eternity will see him make progress, step by step, as he has progressed here, until he is like unto his Father, the God and creator of his immortal soul.
Just a word to the wife and family. This wife and this family belong to this husband and father. With him, throughout an eternity of progress, will be this faithful wife, who for thirty-seven years has stood beside him, his beloved companion, his helper, his solace in the hour of his need - the one that has upheld him in all that he tried to do, sacrificing herself in his behalf. And with them will be their children and their children’s children; for the kingdom commenced here is an everlasting kingdom. There will be no more parting, no sorrow - just an opportunity to continue to grow. If my message has meant anything, it has meant just that.
Brothers and Sisters, let us keep growing. God bless us that we may do so, and may that growth be guided by the Holy Spirit, pure and intelligent, that guided Brother Sheffield all the days of his life. I testify that the spirit of God dwelt in that man, and was a guide to him that enabled him to do the things that he did so well. Peace to you Sister Sheffield and to your family, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Solo - David Cook: “Going Home”
Remarks - Bishop Frank Hyde
We are in the midst of a most wonderful demonstration in honor of a most wonderful man. Before us is a beautiful body, draped in the robes of the Priesthood, surrounded by loving friends and relatives, and beautiful flowers - tokens of love from his many friends and relatives.
We have heard testimonies this day of men who are very intimately acquainted with Brother Sheffield, and I have noted on a sheet of paper here, items in connection with my association with him, and they are practically the same as those that have been brought out in these testimonies, especially that of President Blood, because of similar associations with Brother Sheffield to those of my own. You will recall, perhaps, that President Blood was the Bishop of Brother Sheffield for possibly a half of a score of years, and then later I followed with a similar experience of nearly a score of years, so why shouldn’t our testimonies be the same. They must be the same because this man has not changed his ways - they were always good. He always lived near to his Lord. He always had a testimony that God lived, and that he was being directed by his Father in Heaven, and because of those things our experiences should be similar.
I have joyed in my association with Brother Sheffield all of these years, and during all this period of time that I have been connected with this ward and the bishopric, Brother Sheffield has been connected with me and my brethren. First, as the Superintendent of the Sabbath School, and then as the Ward Clerk. Why shouldn’t I learn to love him? Why shouldn’t I learn to know him and his ways and his manner of dealing with his associates and his fellow church members. I doubt if any one here, any one at least in our own community, can call to mind a spiritual gathering when Brother Sheffield was in good health or when he was at home, without his presence there. And I doubt whether you could do the same thing in community functions. He was always on hand - always taking an active part for the enjoyment, for the pleasure and for the advancement of his fellow men in the earth. And the testimonies of these brethren today only bespeak a fitting finish to a life of such a worthy man with a triumphant entry into immortality.
Brother Sheffield had no doubt where he was going, none whatever. His testimony has been for years and years that God lived, and that he dwelled with his children in the earth and had connections with them continuously, and that those connections and associations should continue after death. Brother Sheffield has not been backward in declaring this testimony, not only to the people of the world abroad, but to the people at home. No matter what faith or organization they belonged to, that testimony was just as strong. He hid not his light under a bushel. He placed it on a hill that all mankind could see it within their vision, and because of that light many souls have been led to and carried forward on the path of light which will bring them reward and happiness in the life to come. I doubt if there is a person here today who ever attended a funeral when it was physically possible for Brother Sheffield to attend but what he was found in that congregation, nearly always on the stand and very often in this pulpit, speaking words of comfort and consolation, and bearing testimony to those who were bereaved. And should we not expect just the demonstration that we behold here today - a house more than filled, and testimony abundant from those who have spoken, because of the service that he has rendered through all of these years past?
Brother Sheffield was the most sought after man, I am sure, in this ward in connection with church work during all the days that I labored with him. This I know to be true. And as President Blood has testified, time and time again he was called out for the purpose of administering to the sick. Brother Sheffield had an abundance of faith and he had the power of healing through the spirit of God, and when he laid his hands on the heads of those who were afflicted, a blessing came to them, and the power of God was made manifest. This I can testify to you, because he was a man of God.
Time will not permit me to refer to the many notes which I have made this day; but this brief testimony I have, that Brother Sheffield did all that was physically possible for him to do, and more, while he lived in this earth, and felt, that his days could possibly have been made longer in the earth if it had not been for that extreme amount of energy which he expended every day for the good of his fellow men. But what mattereth it? Brother Sheffield is going on in that same work, and that which he was unable to do in this life he will continue to do in the life to come, and undoubtedly even now he is going forward in that work.
I was handed a very beautiful poem since being seated on the stand by Brother Larkin, and if you will bear with me I would like to read these few lines because they apply so wonderfully well, not only to Brother Sheffield himself, but to his father and to his mother, who are here this day in old age, as it were, but enjoying the full spirit of the Lord.
“I follow a noble father, his honor is mine to wear,
He gave me a name that was free from shame,
A name he was proud to bear.
He lived in the morning sunlight and marched
In the ranks of right.
He was always true to the best he knew,
And the shield that he wore was bright.
“I follow a noble father and never a day goes by
But, I feel that he looked down on me
To carry his standard high.
He stood to the sternest trials as a brave man can;
Though the way be long, I must never wrong
The name of so good a man.
“I follow a noble father, not known to the printed page,
Nor written down in the world’s renown
As a prince of his little age.
But never a stain attached to him, and never he stooped to shame,
He was bold and brave and to me he gave
The pride of an honest name.
“I follow a noble father, and him I must keep in mind,
Though his form is gone, I must carry on
The name that he left behind.
It was mine on the day he gave it,
It shone as a monarch’s crown
And as fair to see, as it came to me,
It must be when I put it down.”
May God bless Sister Sheffield and her family - a very wonderful family - with whom I have spent many happy hours in service in the Church. And Brother and Sister Sheffield, may the Lord bless them, the father and mother of H.J. Sheffield, Jr. - they have worked diligently and earnestly and sacrificed their time and their energy and their lives, as it were, for the building up of this community, and may God bless them with peace and health and happiness the remaining days of their lives. May God bless us all, I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen
Remarks - Bishop H.C. Burton
I am glad Bishop Hyde read that poem. It seems so appropriate on this occasion.
I am glad we love Jim Sheffield as we do. It is a compliment to us to love virtue, to love Christ-like living, to love a true disciple of Christ. “Wreathed in clouds of glory, we come from God who is our home,” so spoke Wadsworth. “Wreathed in clouds of glory”, Jim Sheffield returns to God, who is his home. His passing is a passing in glory. He has passed only at the peak of his influence and of his activities. He has lived to enjoy the fruits and returns that come from fine, Christ-like living. This is true of him and his dear wife.
We feel as though we have lost a member of our own family. That is the way the families of this ward feel. Brother Sheffield has come into our home. He has blessed us. He has blessed our children in sickness. No one has traveled farther or exerted more energy to reach those who have been ill and suffering than has Jim Sheffield.
We asked him to go to West Kaysville Sunday School to take charge of the singing. He went every Sunday. Wednesday night he was there. He made two trips to make that occasion a success. He took an active part there. A little over a week ago we buried a little infant. Jim Sheffield was there and he spoke. His words were words of inspiration. He quoted scripture and spoke according to the influence of the Spirit of the Lord in a way that brought comfort and peace to those who were in sorrow. Two weeks ago yesterday he stood here at the funeral services of one of our dear pioneer sisters, eighty years old, and he again brought comfort and peace to those who were in sorrow and in mourning. And it is because we love Jim Sheffield so much that we mourn today with the family, and so many have gone to the home. A vast throng has visited the home, offering sympathy, and you are here for that purpose, and it is appreciated.
Brother Sheffield was a man of wonderful faith. He had the gift of healing. We have heard him tell of being bitten by a serpent in the Islands and being healed because of faith. We have heard him tell of being in a typhoon and he and his companion bring marooned in a tree and how he felt that he had power to rebuke the storm and so told his companion, and he did rebuke the storm. He was a man of faith. As has been pointed out, he was always ready for service, never failing us, never refusing, although it seemed hard. His life has been just as I have indicated.
I have a few lines which I wish to read on the spending of life:
“Life is a gift to be used every day,
Not to be smothered and hidden away;
It isn’t a thing to be stored in a chest
Where you gather your keepsakes and treasure your best;
It isn’t a joy to be sipped now and then
And promptly put back in a dark place again.
“Life is a gift that the humblest may boast of
And one that the humblest may well make the most of.
Get out and live it each hour of the day,
Wear it and use it as much as you may.
Don’t keep it in niches and corners and grooves,
You’ll find that in service its beauty improves.”
I would like to quote the last lines of Tennyson in closing that I have heard Jim quote so many times.
“For though from out our bourne of time and place
The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crossed the bar.”
No words could be more truly spoken of anyone than they can be spoken of Jim Sheffield.
His noble sons and daughters have joined him in service. Thirteen years they have spent in the mission field, serving their fellow men. No more beautiful life can be lived than one of service, and that is why his life has been so wonderful and that is why we love Jim Sheffield and his family so much, and his dear wife who with him has accomplished a wonderful achievement in this world.
May God bless Jim’s memory, and bless these boys and girls and all the members of the family, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen
Choir: “Sometime We’ll Understand.”
Benediction - Frank L. Layton
Our Father who art in Heaven, we come before Thee at the close of this service with thankful hearts for Thy spirit that has been with us. We thank Thee, Father, for the life, the association of this our dear brother and his family. We thank Thee for the words that have been spoken on this occasion, and we all join in testifying that those words have been words of truth. We ask Thee, Father, that Thou will bless Sister Nannie, the boys and the girls, and the mother and father of this our dear brother, that they may sense and realize that Thou doest all things well, and that it will only be a short time before they will meet him and he will extend his hand to greet them in the great world to come. We thank Thee for all Thy blessings, Heavenly Father. We ask that Thou will go with us to the cemetery, to the last resting place of this our dear brother, that no accidents may befall anyone, that Thy spirit may be with us, and that we may so live that we may be able to meet him when we have finished our career here upon the earth. We ask these blessings in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen
Dedication of the grave: President Arnold D. Miller.